Famous Deaths on April 26

1785 Karl Siegmund von Seckendorff, German composer, dies at 40
1789 Peter Ivanovich Panin, Russian general (Pugatshov-uprising), dies at ~67
1805 Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard d'Ansse de Villoison, French classical scholar (Anecdota Graeca), dies at 55
1827 Bernardo Ottani, Italian composer, dies at 90
1865 Charles J Sax, Belgium musician & father of Adolphe Sax inventor of the saxophone, dies at 74

John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865)

American stage actor & assassin of US President Abraham Lincoln, shot and killed at 26 by Union soldier Boston Corbett

1881 Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, Bavarian general, dies at 65
1892 Provo Wallis, British Royal Navy officer, dies at 100
1907 Joseph Hellmesberger Jr., Austrian composer, violinist, and conductor, dies of kidney failure at 52
1907 Pietro Platania, Italian composer, dies at 79
1910 Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian author "Pa Guds Veje" and Nobel laureate 1903, dies at 77
1920 Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician (number theory), dies of illness at 32
1922 Hans Sommer, German theatre composer, dies at 84
1924 Josef Labor, Austrian composer, dies at 82
1932 Bill Lockwood, English cricket fast bowler (12 Tests, 43 wickets, BB 7/71, 1 x 50; Surrey CCC), dies at 64
1936 Tammany Young, American actor, dies at 49
1938 Edmund Husserl, German philosopher (founded School of Phenomenology), dies at 79
1940 Carl Bosch, German chemist (BASF, IG Farben, Nobel 1931), dies at 65
1941 Jean Demoor, Belgian physician & physiologist, dies at 74
1944 Violette Morris, French athlete & spy for Nazi Germany, dies at 51
1945 Pavlo Skoropadsky, Ukrainian politician & general, dies at 71
1945 Sigmund Rascher, Nazi doctor, dies at 36
1946 Hermann von Keyserling, Baltic German philosopher (Unsterblichkeit), dies at 65
1946 Jim Larkin White, American cave explorer and guide (Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico), dies at 63
1950 G. Murray Hulbert, American politician, dies at 68
1951 Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist, dies at 82
1951 John Alden Carpenter, American composer (Sea Drift), dies at 75
1956 Edward Arnold, American actor (Mr Smith Goes to Washington), dies at 66
1957 Gichin Funakoshi, Japanese martial artist, Father of Japanese Shotokan Karatedo, dies at 88
1958 Joan Collette, Dutch graphic artist and painter (New Church, Delft), dies at 68
1958 Joe Small, West Indian cricketer (WI all-rounder in 1928 series), dies at 65
1960 Wander Johannes de Haas, Dutch physicist (Einstein-De Haas effect), dies at 82
1964 Edwin John Pratt, Canadian poet (Towards the Last Spike), dies at 81
1964 Pieter van der Lijn, Dutch geologist (Boulder Book), dies at 93
1965 Aaron Avshalomov, Russian-Jewish-American composer (Kuan Yin; The Great Wall), conductor (Shanghai Municipal Orchestra, 1943-46), and librarian, dies at 70
1969 Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist and founder of the Japanese martial art of aikido, dies at 85
1970 "Gypsy" Rose Lee [Hovick], American burlesque actress (Gypsy), dies of lung cancer at 59
1970 Erik Bergman, Swedish pastor, dies at 83
1970 John Knittel, Swiss writer, dies at 79
1970 Paul Celan, Romanian-born writer, dies at 49
1972 Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter, dies at 79
1972 Margaret Bonds, American composer (The Ballad of the Brown King), pianist, arranger, and teacher, dies at 59
1973 Irene Ryan [Noblitt], American actress (Beverly Hillbillies - "Granny"; Pippin), dies of an inoperable brain tumor at 70
1976 Allan Jackson, American newscaster (Youth Takes a Stand), dies at 60
1976 Neil McCallum, British-Canadian actor (Pete-Saber of London), dies at 45
1976 Sid James [Solomon Joel Cohen], South African-born British character & comedy actor (Hancock's Half Hour, Carry On), dies from a heart attack at 62
1980 Cicely Courtneidge, Australian-born British actress (Double Exposure), dies at 87
1981 Jim Davis, American actor (Dallas - "Jack Ewing"), dies at 65
1981 Madge Evans, American TV panelist (Masquerade Party), dies at 71
1982 Celia Johnson, British actress (Jean Brodie), dies of stroke at 73
1982 Ville Ritola, Finnish 5/10km runner (Olympic gold 1924, 28), dies at 86
1983 Bronislaw Kaper, Polish-American Academy Award-winning film composer (Green Dolphin Street; Lili; The Brothers Karamazov), dies at 81
1983 Vaughn Taylor, American actor (Jailhouse Rock, Johnny Jupiter), dies at 72

Count Basie (1904-1984)

Jazz pianist, organist, and bandleader ("One O'Clock Jump"; "April In Paris"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 79

1984 Barry Gray [John Livesey Eccles], British pianist, ondist, Hammond organ player, film and television composer (Thunderbirds; Space:1999), dies at 75
1984 Henry Rowland, American actor (Rogue's Regiment), dies at 70
1984 May McAvoy, American actress (Ben Hur), dies at 82 after a heart attack
1986 Bessie Love, American actress (Broadway Melody, Isadora), dies at 87

Broderick Crawford (1911-1986)

American actor (All the King's Men, Highway Patrol), dies after a series of strokes at 74

1986 Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter, dies at 87
1987 John Ernest Silkin, British politician, dies at 64

Lucille Ball (1911-1989)

American comedienne and actress (I Love Lucy; Mame), dies of a heart attack at 77

1990 Carlos Pizarro Leongomez, Colombian presidential candidate, assassinated at 38
1991 Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (The Godfather Part II), and father of Francis Ford Coppola, dies at 80
1991 Emily McLaughlin, American actress (Jessie Brewer- General Hospital), dies at 61
1991 Hans Holewa, Austrian-born Swedish composer, dies at 85
1991 Lars Hall, Swedish pentathlete (Olympic gold 1952), dies at 63
1991 Leo Arnaud, French-American composer (Bugler's Dream), dies at 86
1991 Richard Hatfield, Canadian politician (26th Premier of New Brunswick), dies at 60
1992 Alberta Vaughn, American actress (Wild Horse, Silver Devil), dies at 87
1992 Clyde Hartley, American entertainer, dies at 68
1994 Manuel Enríquez, Mexican composer, dies at 67
1994 Masutatsu Oyama, Founder of Japanese Kyokushin Karate, dies at 70
1995 Alexander Knox, Canadian actor & author (Gorky Park, 2 of a Kind), dies of bone cancer at 88
1995 Hugh Morton, Baron Morton of Shuna, Scottish lawyer & judge, dies at 65
1996 Burton Stein, American historian, dies at 69
1996 John Norrie McArthur, British malariologist and microscopist who invented a handheld field microscope, dies at 94 [1]
1996 Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter (In the Heat of the Night, Perry Mason), dies at 78
1997 Gene Ames, American singer (Ames Brothers), dies of cancer at 73
1997 Joey Faye, American comedian (Joey Faye's Follies), dies at 86
1997 John Beal [James Andrew Bliedung], American actor (10 Who Dare, I Am the Law, Les Misérables), dies at 87
1997 Peng Zhen, mayor of Beijing China (1951-66), dies at 94
1999 Adrian Borland, English musician (The Sound), dies at 41
1999 Jill Dando, British television presenter, dies at 37
2002 Del Sharbutt, American radio and TV announcer (Your Hit Parade), dies at 90
2002 Robert Steinhäuser, German spree killer, dies at 19
2003 Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist, dies at 98
2003 Peter Stone, American writer, dies at 73
2003 Rosemary Brown, Canadian politician, dies at 85
2004 Claude "Fiddler" Williams, American jazz violinist and guitarist (Twelve Clouds of Joy; Count Basie), dies at 96
2004 Hubert Selby Jr., American author (Last Exit to Brooklyn), dies at 75
2005 Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan author, dies at 87
2005 Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss star of German cinema (The Last Bridge, Gervaise), dies at 79
2005 Mason Adams, American actor (Lou Grant, Deadliest Season), dies at 86
2007 Jack Valenti, American political advisor & film executive, dies at 85
2008 Henry Brant, American composer (Great American Goot), dies at 94
2011 Phoebe Snow [Laub], American singer-songwriter ("Poetry Man"), dies at 60
2013 George Jones, American country singer-songwriter ("Golden Rings"; "Oh Lonesome Me"), dies from hypoxic respiratory failure at 81
2013 Jacqueline Brookes, American actress (Jack & Mike, Another World), dies at 82
2014 Sandro Lopopolo Italian lightweight boxer (Olympic-Silver-1960), dies at 74
2015 Jayne Meadows, American actress (Dark Delusion; David and Bathsheba) & wife of Steve Allen, dies of natural causes at 95
2017 Jonathan Demme, American film director (Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia), dies at 73
2017 Raj Bagri, Indian-British merchant in metal, dies at 86
2018 Charles Neville, American vocalist & saxophonist (Neville Brothers), dies of pancreatic cancer at 79
2019 David McNee, Scottish law enforcement officer (City of Glasgow/Strathclyde Police Chief Constable, 1971-77; Metropolitan Police Commissioner, 1977-82), dies at 94
2020 Ron Marlenee, American politician (Rep-R-MT, 1977-93), dies at 84
2021 Albert "Al" Schmitt, American Grammy Award-winning recording engineer and record producer (Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand), dies at 91 [1] [2]
2021 Dick Mann, American motorcycle racer (A.M.A. Grand National C'ship 1963, 71; Motorcycle Hall of Fame 1998), dies at 86
2021 Tamara Press, Soviet athlete (Olympic gold shot put 1960, 64; discus 1960, 64), dies at 83
2022 İsmail Ogan, Turkish freestyle wrestler (Olympic gold 78kg 1964, silver 1960), dies at 89